Cuba

Books - Articles - Videos - Collections - Oral Histories - Websites - Lesson Plans

Visit our Library Catalog for complete list of books, magazines, and videos. Related subject terms: Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro, Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Conspiracy Theories, Nikita Khrushchev, Robert F. Kennedy

Books Ayers, Bradley Earl. The War That Never Was: An Insider's Account of the CIA Covert Operations Against Cuba. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976.

Bayard, James. The Real Story on Cuba. Derby, CN: Monarch Books, 1963.

Chang, Laurence. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A National Security Archive Documents Reader. New York: New Press, 1998.

DiEugenio, James. Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba and the Garrison Case. New York, NY: Sheridan Square Press, 1992.

Dobbs, Michael. One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.

Escalante Font, Fabian. JFK: The Cuba Files: The Untold Story of the Plot to Kill Kennedy. Melbourne, Victoria: Ocean Press, 2006.

Baloyra, Enrique A. Conflict and Change in Cuba. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1993.

Johnson, Hayes. The Bay of Pigs: The Leaders' Story of Brigade 2506. Miami, FL.: International Aviation Consultants, 1993.

Jones, Howard. The Bay of Pigs. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Kornbluh, Peter. Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba. New York, NY: The New Press, 1998.

Kennedy, Robert F. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1969.

May, Ernest R. The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1997. Stern Sheldon M. The Week the World Stood Still: Inside the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005.

Rasenberger, Jim. The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs. New York: Scribner, 2011.

Ratliff, William E. The Selling of Fidel Castro: The Media and the Cuban Revolution. New Brunswick, USA: Transaction Books, 1987.

Thompson, Robert Smith. The Missiles of October: The Declassified Story of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Weisbrot, Robert. Maximum Danger: Kennedy, the Missiles, and the Crisis of American Confidence. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee, 2001.

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Articles

"The Danger-filled Week of Decision Cuba." Life 2 Nov. 1962. Evan, Thomas. "RFK the Untold Story: His Secret Role in the Cuban Missile Crisis." Newsweek 14 Aug. 2000. "Inside Castro's Cuba." Life 15 Mar. 1963.

Jones, John A., and Virginia H. Jones. "Through the Eye of the Needle: Five Perspectives on the Cuban Missile Crisis." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 8.1 (2005): 133-144. Russo, Gus. "Did Castro OK Kennedy's Assassination?." American Heritage Winter 2009. Sidey, Hugh. "The Lesson John Kennedy Learned from the Bay of Pigs." Time 16 Apr. 2001. Sorensen, Theodore. "Kennedy vs. Khrushchev the Showdown in Cuba." Look 7 Sept. 1965.  back to top

Videos Cuba the 40 Years War. Peter Melaragno, 2002. JFK from the Solomon Islands to the Bay of Pigs. A&E Television Networks, 2009. The Missiles of October. MPI Home Video, 2004. Thirteen Days. New Line Home Entertainment, 2000.

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Collections For more information about the Museum's collections, visit www.jfk.org/go/collections.

Bay of Pigs Museum Collection Object number: 2001.023.0001

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Description: Fully detailed model of the airplanes flown by the US in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The plane is grey with black, blue, red, and white detailing. The stand is wood and metal.

James Cron Collection Object number: 2007.012.0014 Description: Photographic copy of the front and back of a Dallas unit of the U.S. Air Force Reserve activation order issued October 28, 1962 by direction of President Kennedy during the Cuba Missile Crisis. Curatorial Remarks: The 12 photographs and 5 documents all relate to Kennedy's assassination, from the Dallas Sheriff's Department. James Cron, a Forensic Identification Consultant, has 48 years' experience in physical evidence, crime scene search, fingerprints, crime scene analysis and law enforcement instruction. He retired as a lieutenant in the Dallas county, Texas Sheriff's Department. He served 29 years (1964-1993). Cron worked 6 years (1958-1964) as a civilian for the Dallas, Texas Police Department in the crime scene section, records and jail office.

Jeanne Reilly Collection Object number: 2000.048.0139 Description: Cuban Missile Crisis Postcards. Photo courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Library. 2 identical photo postcards of aerial shots of Cuban missile silos, a Russian letter, and specially engraved desk calendars that JFK gave his advisors.

Julia Knecht Collection Collection number: 1995.012 Description: The Knecht Collection contains several thousand items kept by Knecht, the personal assistant to former Major General Edwin Walker. Walker, a controversial, conservative Army general, was reprimanded for distributing John Birch Society literature to his troops in violation of Army regulations. At the request of President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara relieved Walker of his duties, whereupon Walker resigned. He continued his right-wing political reviews from his home in Dallas and launched a failed bid for Texas governor in 1962. A year later, Walker was shot at by Lee Harvey Oswald, just seven months prior to the Kennedy assassination; the shot missed, and Walker wasn't hurt. Most of the Knecht Collection is post-1961 and contains Knecht's notes, ads, photos, films and numerous clippings and publications relating to Walker. The collection continues into the 1980s, when she retired. Some of the collection items were presumably Walker's, but most are believed to be Knecht's.

Wayne Harrison Collection Object numbers: 2009.015.0001.0039 and 2009.015.0001.0088 Description: Texas AP Wire Copy Tear Sheets From KNER-FM. Contains a description of the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy's dealings with Cuba, Castro and Khrushchev. (Date: 11/22/1963)

Other Collection Items: Object number: 2000.028.0001 Description: One silver "Crusade to Free Cuba" commemorative coin minted in April of 1961. On one side of the coin is a cross with a Cuban flag and on the reverse is a soldier running through a battlefield.

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Object number: 2000.034.0003 Description: One political button/pin with a white background and the words "To Hell with Fidel" in blue and red.

Object number: 2000.037.0001 Description: One flag that is a replica of the Brigada Asalto 2506 that represented the men who fought at ath Bay of Pigs. The flag is yellow with a blue border. There is a man running at the center with a knife in blue and a banner over his head with the words "Brigada Asalto" cut out and the number 2506 to his right.

Object number: 2010.042.0004 Description: Original White House press release with transcript of a letter from President John F. Kennedy to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dated 28 October 1962, the release begins, "I am replying at once to your broadcast message of October twenty- eight, even though the official text has not yet reached me, because of the great importance I attach to moving forward promptly to the settlement of the Cuban crisis." Press release is a single-sided, one-page document. Heading at top of document reads:

" IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 28, 1962 Office of the White House Press Secretary ------THE WHITE HOUSE TEXT OF A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT KENNEDY TO CHAIRMAN KHRUSHCHEV "

Full text of the message follows, requesting that measures be taken to discuss disarmament and precaution against war.

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Oral Histories For more information about the Oral History Collection, visit http://www.jfk.org/go/collections/oral-histories.

Eileen Albert A home economics teacher in 1963, Albert visited the Capitol Rotunda on the weekend of the assassination to pay her respects to President Kennedy. At that time, her parents were participating in "Operation Peter Pan," caring for a twelve-year-old Cuban girl for one year until her mother could settle in Miami. Recorded July 1, 2010.

Esteban Caras A member of Assault Brigade 2506, Caras served as part of the Bay of Pigs invasion force. Recorded October 29, 2000.

Ruben Esquivel Currently a member of the Dallas County Historical Foundation's board of directors, Esquivel was a native Cuban who fled his homeland when Fidel Castro came to power. Recorded September 15 and October 29, 2000.

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Carlos Fonts A longtime Dallas businessman, Fonts was a Cuban native living in exile in Florida when he joined the Bay of Pigs invasion force. Recorded November 27, 2000.

Hector Garcia A native Cuban who fled his homeland when Fidel Castro came to power, Garcia became an active community leader in Dallas. Recorded September 27 and October 29, 2000.

Rene Gonzalez A member of Assault Brigade 2506, Gonzalez served as part of the Bay of Pigs invasion force. Recorded October 29, 2000.

Robert MacNeil A veteran broadcast journalist, MacNeil covered the Cuban missile crisis from inside Cuba and, as a White House correspondent for NBC, covered President Kennedy in 1963. He was in the Dallas motorcade on November 22 and phoned NBC from the Texas School Book Depository building within minutes of the shooting. Recorded April 16, 2004.

Delia Reyes A Cuban native now living in Dallas, Reyes fled her homeland when Fidel Castro came to power. Recorded September 18 and October 29, 2000.

Felix Rodriguez A member of Assault Brigade 2506, Rodriguez served as part of the Bay of Pigs invasion force. Recorded October 29, 2000.

Capt. Maury Seitz A former U.S. Air Force captain who later served as a longtime captain for American Airlines, Seitz was co-pilot on numerous chartered flights that backed up Air Force One during the Kennedy presidency. Seitz met the Kennedy family and spent time with Caroline and John Jr. During the Cuban missile crisis, his plane carried a JFK decoy during a top-secret flight. Recorded February 13, 2002, March 7, 2008, July 15, 2009, and June 9, 2010.

Dennis Vincent An actor and co-founder of the Dallas Children's Theater, Vincent visited Havana twice in 2000 and provided impressions of modern-day Cuba under the control of Fidel Castro. Recorded September 27, 2000.

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Websites Additional websites can be found through the Internet Public Library

American Rhetoric - John F. Kennedy: Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation Complete text, audio and video of John F. Kennedy - Cuban Missile Crisis Address.

Foreign Relations of the United States - 1961-1963 Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath

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This collection of documents, part of the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Relations series, is the electronic version of the volume on the Cuban Missile Crisis and its aftermath, which was initially published in print in 1996. Compiled using strict editorial standards, the collection includes briefing papers, letters, telegrams, and memoranda of conversations prepared by U.S. government officials involved in the crisis. Also available are transcripts and summary reports of meetings of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExCom), but not renditions of the ExCom tapes. Items are organized chronologically by links in groups of 25, the sum of which provides a day-by-day account of the evolving crisis, U.S. policymaking, and the diplomacy involved in implementing that policy. The volume contains a glossary of abbreviations used in the documents, a list of key figures in the crisis, and sources for documents. The compilation is a major resource for studying the U.S. side of the crisis.

History.com - Cuban Missile Crisis Website provides articles, videos, speeches, and photo galleries on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum - Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated to the memory of our nation's thirty- fifth president and to all those who through the art of politics seek a new and better world.

Also check out the interactive exhibit also created by the JFK Presidential Library & Museum, "The World on the Brink: John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis."

LIFE - Bay of Pigs: Invastion and Aftermath Slideshow of photos from Life magazine.

Mary Ferrell Foundation - Kennedy and Cuba Created by researcher and historian Mary Ferrell, this website offers the largest searchable electronic collection of materials related to the JFK assassination and summarizes the campaigns and operations that relate to Kennedy and Cuba during the early 1960s.

Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia - John F. Kennedy The Presidential Recordings Program, chaired by David Coleman, was established by the Miller Center in 1998 to make the secret White House recordings accessible through transcripts and historical research.

The National Security Archive - Cuba Documentation Project From the National Security Archive, the collection of declassified U.S. government documents related to Cuba, covering the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs invasion, relations between Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy, and U.S.-Cuba. Also from the National Security Archive's website on the 40th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs are more documents, audio clips, photographs, naval charts, chronologies, and analysis of contemporary historians.

NPR - Ahead of Bay of Pigs, Fears of Communism Fifty years ago today, a brigade of around 1,500 CIA-trained soldiers stormed the beach in Cuba's Bay of Pigs. It was the opening phase of a secret mission to overthrow Fidel Castro. Of course, things didn't go as planned, and the lessons learned could apply to U.S. foreign policy today. (Aired April 17, 2011)

Nuclear Files.org: Project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - Cuban Missile Crisis From nuclear proliferation to nuclear testing, from Hiroshima to North Korea, Nuclear Files offers the A to Z on nuclear issues. By providing access to primary source documents, historical and background

TSFM Resource Guide: Cuba - Updated 7/6/2011- Page 6 information, and analysis, Nuclear Files is an excellent educational resource that explores the political, legal and ethical challenges of the Nuclear Age. Nuclear Files connects educators from various disciplines, offering a resource section with study guides and sample syllabi for various courses. The site features a timeline of the history of the Nuclear Age, as well as the latest developments in nuclear issues worldwide. Nuclear Files also includes primary source documents, data and graphs, biographies of key individuals, as well as a media gallery with photos, video and audio clips.

University of Miami Libraries - Cordovés and Bolaños Collection This digital collection contains letters and documents from Cuba's Wars of Independence. It also includes clippings, documents, and photographs regarding the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, in which the collection donor, Julio Mestre, was involved.

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Lesson Plans Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Dept. of State - Cuban Missile Crisis A quick slideshow of photos and images for educators.

EDSITEment: Lesson Plans from the National Endowment for the Humanities - The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: The Missiles of October Most historians agree that the world has never come closer to nuclear war than it did during a thirteen- day period in October 1962, after the revelation that the Soviet Union had stationed several medium- range ballistic missiles in Cuba. This lesson will examine how this crisis developed, how the Kennedy administration chose to respond, and how the situation was ultimately resolved. By examining both government documents and photographs students will put themselves into the role of President Kennedy during this crucial period, considering the advice of key administration figures and deciding on a course of action.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum - Curricular Resources The JFK Presidential Library & Museum developed many wonderful educational resources and lesson plans divided up by grade level. Resources and lesson plans on Cuba are available for middle school and high school level students.

The National Archives - Heros & Villians: Kennedy and Cuba This gallery contains four case studies and an activity key about John F. Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis for students age 11-18 years. Additional teaching sources can be found here.

Verizon Thinkfinity - www.thinkfinity.org Verizon Thinkfinity offers comprehensive teaching and learning resources created by our content partners – the most respected organizations in each academic subject and literacy. The easy-to-navigate K-12 resources are grade-specific and are aligned with state standards.

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